The first draft of this project was also my first project for laser-cut acrylic. Since I didn't know what I was doing, the objectives were modest. Just build a box with all the components inside to see if it even works. And well... it didn't.

I was inspired by the Apple PowerMac G4 Cube, a beautiful landmark of industrial design. What I ended up with was a pretty horrid rendition that did not resemble the original in any way. It's my version of all those "Pinterest fails" circulating on the internet.

The angled top turned out to be difficult because laser cutter only cut at right angles. I didn't know that. I designed tabs and slots to glue pieces of acrylic together, but the sharp corners in the acrylic started cracking under stress. I didn't know that was an issue to consider. The wiring wasn't something I knew how to model in CAD, so the reality is a rat's nest of tangled wires.

Revision A was full of problems, but it was only the first draft. It's supposed to help me learn these lessons so I can apply them towards the next revision, and from that (generous) perspective it worked well.

Next up: Rev B

(The links above, and more details than you ever wanted to know, are from the full verbose build blog.)